That's Showbiz, Kid
by Pikacheeks
Summary: Showbiz AU: Luke is a fallen rock star that's caught up in the world of drugs, sex, and rock and roll. Clementine is an on-the-rise actress, deemed talented but uninteresting by the media, in need of a publicity stint. It only makes sense for these two to pursue a fake relationship, right? Older!Clementine Rated T for: Drug Use and Non-Graphic Sexual Situations


**A/n: **Hi, yeah, I know I've got three other stories I need to work on, but I needed to get this out of my head before I could work on anything else. This is a little different from my other stories. If the general consensus is that this is going to suck, then I won't continue it. But if you guys like it, I'd love to expand on it more. Thank you for reading and reviewing~

* * *

Clementine's eyes scan the magazine fiercely, searching for her name, a picture of her, anything! But she doesn't find what she's looking for until she reaches the last few pages of the magazine.

The glossy page reads: "_Comic Book Geeks, Rejoice: The Walking Dead creators Robert Kirkman and Tony Moore announce The Walking Dead TV show! The show begins airing in mid-September and ends on the last day of October, running for a meager six episodes. AMC is going to refrain from ordering more episodes until the first season, awaiting the reaction from the fans. The Walking Dead will star some secret A-List names, as well as two faces fresh from Hollywood: 22 year-old Ben Paul and 19 year-old Clementine Hutchinson. You might remember Clementine Hutchinson from the recent blockbuster hit: Warm Bodies, the unconventional zombie/romance flick. Seems like someone is a sucker for flesh-eating monsters (but who isn't?!)"_

Clementine sighs irritably and tosses the magazine on her coffee table. She crosses her arms and looks at her manager, "Lee, what am I supposed to do? I worked my ass off to get both of those parts, I mean, my acting was en pointe! So, why do I only get this tiny picture of me in this magazine?"

Lee picks up the magazine, flipping through until he finds the article mentioning Clementine. "You should be happy that they even included your name and picture. They mentioned that Ben kid, but other than that, there ain't no shit about him. Besides, you should be happy you're not in the spotlight, it's a pain in the ass."

"Yeah, it must really suck having your picture everywhere and having people talk about you and being given all these roles in amazing movies. It must be terrible to have money practically thrown at you." Clementine rolls her eyes.

"Clementine," Lee says, his voice low and gentle, "I understand your frustration, but you need to take a minute and think. You're young, beautiful, talented, and you're becoming Hollywood's golden child."

The younger girl frowns, "Being the 'Golden Child' isn't cutting it, Lee. I need something more. I need to catch Hollywood's attention."

"What, like a publicity stint?" Lee asks carefully, clearly not liking the idea. Publicity stints usually meant one thing: Dating. And the one thing Clementine didn't need this early in her career was a relationship, even if it was a fake one.

Clementine snaps her fingers, pointing at Lee, "Correct! Can you talk to the publicist and your journalist girlfriend? Find out who I can start dating and when I can be caught with them at a nice little cafe. Make sure it's someone relevant, but not too famous. I don't want their fame to overshadow me."

Lee shakes his head, putting the magazine down. "Listen to me, Sweet Pea, it is way too soon for you to be dating anyone. Just stay where you are, do the show, go to the convention, shake the hands of nerds, and keep your head down. Maybe do some charity work, if you really want the publicity."

"That's not enough, Lee." Clementine pouts, "I just need a little boost! Nothing serious, just something enough to make the front page of People or Us Weekly. Come on."

Lee crosses his arms, "Clementine, you are not mature enough to deal with the consequences of dating while in the public eye. You're not ready for people to whisper behind your back about what you two are doing, or are not doing, for people to take pictures of you every time you leave your house. It can break you, Clementine. It will break you and I'm not going to let that happen."

"Oh, come on, Lee," Clementine whines, "This is beneficial to all involved. I get more publicity, so I get more work. I get to collect fat checks for doing what I love, you get twenty percent of those fat checks. And whoever I'm dating gets more work just for dating me. There is literally no downside."

Lee shakes his head, "I said 'no', Clementine. This conversation is over and I'm leaving. I don't want to hear about this anymore. You think about what you want, how you want to get it, and if we can work something out. I won't arrange anything that will hurt you, I care about you too much. You're a good girl, Clementine. Hollywood should see that in time. And you should rest, shooting for the show starts in a week and you're going to be exhausted. I'll call you tomorrow, okay?"

Lee grabs his coat off the arm of Clementine's recliner. Clementine says a meager goodbye to him, upset at what he said about her being to immature to handle the spotlight. He just didn't understand what Clementine was going through.

Her dad is an engineer and her mom is a doctor, so they expected Clementine to go to MIT or Harvard after high school, and get a noble job, like a lawyer, or a doctor, or a scientist of some sort. But ever since she was little, she knew it was her destiny to act. She started small, of course, swaying in the background as a tree in the school production of "Reduce, Reuse, Re-buy, Recycle". Then, as she got older, she began to snag the big roles in the school plays, Juliet of "Romeo and Juliet", Alice of "Alice in Wonderland", Belle of "Beauty and the Beast", and Sandy of "Grease". She had to take singing classes for the musicals, and though her voice was barely above mediocre, her acting was always far superior than the next person's.

Lee was visiting Macon from Hollywood to see his niece's school production of "Grease". She wanted to be an actress too, but she was Rizzo and Clementine was Sandy, so it was only natural that Lee was more blown away with Clementine's acting than with his niece's. He had to go up and introduce himself to Clementine and her family, he couldn't just let fresh, undeniable talent waste away in this little, nobody town. Besides, it was Clementine's senior year of high school, she would be eighteen shortly after graduation, she could move to Hollywood, and begin her career.

Clementine's parents were furious at first, telling her that the odds of her making it in the business were slim to none. She was a smart girl, graduating as the school's valedictorian. She had been accepted to every college she applied for, including Harvard and MIT. But it didn't feel right, she wasn't meant to heal or invent. Those weren't her passions, her passion was for the stage, the lights, the camera, and the action. She told her parents she would stay, but in the middle of the night, she left her parent's house with only a week's worth of clothes and the two thousand dollars her family had given her towards college. She took the 3 A.M. bus from Macon to Los Angeles and stayed in a hotel for a week, before she found Lee Everett's office. She only had five hundred dollars at that point, and Lee let her stay with him at his house, so that she wouldn't have to live on the street.

It didn't take long for Clementine to get her first acting job, the lead role of Julie in "Warm Bodies", a zombie version of "Romeo and Juliet". The movie was a commercial success that put Clementine's name on the map. She was soon offered the part of Michonne in the TV adaptation of The Walking Dead. She was a little young to play the part of a late-twenties, early-thirties woman, so the writers rewrote the character, just enough for Clementine to portray her perfectly.

She had only been in Hollywood for a little more than a year and she was already becoming Hollywood's sweetheart. She was funny and sassy when she did interviews, but everything seemed so generic. So far, Hollywood hadn't bothered to get to know Clementine beneath the surface. She wasn't quite big enough yet, and that needed to change fast. She was tired of working her ass off without getting the recognition she deserved.

Clementine picks up the magazine off of the coffee table, flipping through the pages, looking at all the boy pictures. All of these guys were cute, of course, but they were all too famous. Clementine dating them wouldn't help her, it would probably be a detriment. Especially since most of these boys had crazy fangirls, and Clementine didn't think that death threats were something she could handle right now. She doesn't see any boy that would be right for her, so she sighs, putting the magazine down and picking up her TV remote. She puts on one of the TV channels that plays music videos all day and talk about musicians, sometimes even interviewing them. She doesn't really pay attention, the words of the hosts going in one ear and out the other.

"And in the number one spot this week are punk-pop royalty, Ice Water Survivors! These amazing rock stars have been on tour for two months, their first tour since their frontman, Luke Porter, admitted to having a drug problem a year ago. We hope that Luke Porter will win his battle against drugs, sex, and rock and roll. Enjoy this next song and, if you're in the Hollywood area, try to make it to their one night only concert going on tomorrow night!"

Clementine's eyes light up as she watches the music video play, listening to the voice serenading her, soaking everything in. The singer was good-looking, just the right amount of famous, and in need of help. Maybe, just maybe... She picks up her cellphone and begins dialing immediately.

"Hello?" A soft voice on the other end answers.

"Sarah, hey, your dad works at the Rehab center in Long Beach, right?" Clementine asks. She and Sarah had met shortly after Clementine moved to Hollywood. She was a huge fan of "Warm Bodies" when it was only a book, and had snagged tickets to the red carpet premier of the movie, as well as a meet and greet with the cast. They became friends instantly

"Yeah, why? Are you into hard drugs?" She asks, somewhat seriously.

"No!" Clementine says, "He probably knows Luke Porter, right?"

"Yes." Sarah sighs, "He's so dreamy. Why do you ask?"

Clementine can't help but grin. She was a genius, and didn't get as much credit as she deserved. "Do you think he could get a girl a couple of tickets to tomorrow's Ice Water Survivors show?"

* * *

The bassline is thick and heavy. Perfect for this dingy lounge that smelled like whiskey and cigarettes. The air is foggy, a white haze settling over the crowd. Everyone is screaming and shouting, a few people clapping to the beat. Luke Porter looks back at his bandmates, Nick, slapping his bass, Jane on the drums, and Bonnie on the rhythm guitar. Luke closes his eyes and takes it all in. This was his second favorite high. He strums his guitar and begins to sing.

_"She says she's no good with words, but I'm worse. Barely stuttered out a joke of a romantic was stuck to my tongue. Weighed down with words too overdramatic. Tonight is it can't get much worse versus no one should ever feel like. I'm two quarters and a heart down and I don't wanna forget how your voice sounds. These words are all I have, so I write them. So you need them just to get by."_ He strums eight electric notes and the crowd is screaming, _"Dance, dance! We're falling apart to half time. Dance, dance! And these are the lives you love to lead. Dance, this is the way they'd love, if they knew how misery loved me. You always fold just before you're found out. Drink up it's last call, last resort, but only my first mistake and..."_ He closes his eyes and waits for the rush to hit him again, _"I'm two quarters and a heart down and I don't wanna forget how your voice sounds. These words are all I have, so I write. So you need them just to get by. Why don't you show me a little bit of spine, you've been saving for his mattress? I only want sympathy in the form of you crawling into bed with me._"

As he continues singing, he scans the crowd. Most of the crowd are teenage girls, with big hair and thick eyeliner. They're screaming and crying out for him. They're all so pretty and they all want him. He winks at a couple of girls and they nearly pass out.

"Thank you, Hollywood! You're all fucking amazing! Have a good fucking night!" Luke calls out, earning a loud cheer from the crowd. He exits the stage with his bandmates, heading backstage. There's a little lounge set up for them, a few recliners, a loveseat, a cooler of beer, some liquor on an end table, and scantily clad ladies.

"Hey Luke," one of the girls purrs, sauntering over to him, "Great show. Your energy out there was so raw."

Luke wraps his arm around the girl's waist, pulling her close to him. He presses his lips softly against the shell of her ear, "Thanks, babe. Do you got that thing I was askin' for?"

The girl looks up at him, batting her fake eyelashes. She reaches into her bra, a frilly piece of black and red lingerie, and pulls out a small black case just enough for Luke to see it. "I just love your southern accent. Maybe we can move our two-person party to the backroom?"

"Sounds good to me, doll." Luke grins, smashing his mouth against the girl's. They push each other against the walls, scratching and pulling at each other's bodies, before they make it to the dingy little bathroom. When they're inside, they lock the door and pull out the little black case. The girl opens it, inside is a needle and a small, plastic bag with white powder. Luke feels his arms aching for it and his mouth becomes dry.

This was his first favorite high.

* * *

Clementine is leaning against the wall, watching the other people of the band interact. They're drinking and smoking, cigarettes and other things. Nothing that isn't legal in most states. There are a bunch of girls too, pretty girls, skinny girls, scantily clad girls. Some of them weren't even wearing clothes.

She thought about leaving when the door to the bathroom finally swung open. A girl walked out, her eyes low and her cheeks flushed. Her bra is barely hanging on and her underwear are on backwards, the sides twisted. Behind her, Luke walks out, zipping up his pants. His eyes are low too and seeing it makes Clementine's stomach twist.

The guy she spoke to earlier, he said he was their manager, approached Luke and whispered something in his ear, pointing at Clementine. She straightens her back and tries to look some sort of attractive. Which is kind of hard, considering the fact that she was surrounded by skinny, voluptuous, groupies. She sees Luke nod and gesture for her to follow him and the manager out to the back of the club.

The air is cold and crisp and feels amazing, compared to the hot, thick air of the lounge. Clementine runs her hands up and down her arms. She's wearing a pair of ripped skinny jeans and a black, spaghetti strap crop top. It sounded like a good idea, but as she stood outside, shivering, she realized she should have brought a sweater.

"I'm Luke," The singer introduces himself, holding out his hand, "But you already know that."

"Clementine," Clementine says, shaking his hand.

"Nice name," Luke grins, "Pete says you have a business proposition for us? I'm not used to girls having serious business questions. This is a serious business question, right? Cause if it's a sex thing, I'm going to have to pass. Not that you're not my type, don't get me wrong. You're cute. But I'm satisfied for right now."

Clementine's face flushes and she grits her teeth, "Thanks for that, but I promise I'm not trying to sleep with you. I'm actually an actress, I was just in that zombie movie, Warm Bodies?"

Luke's eyes widen with recognition, "Oh! You play Julie! Holy shit, that's awesome. Sorry about earlier, I didn't recognize you. You're definitely not a hooker."

"No, that was my second choice of career though, if acting didn't work out." Clementine awkwardly jokes, "Yeah, actually, I came here because I have a problem that you can help with."

Luke smiles, "What? Do you need permission to have one of our songs in a movie? Cause you have to talk to the record label for that."

Clementine shakes her head, "No, it's a personal problem. You see, I'm slowly becoming more famous, but I need publicity. I need people to see my personal life. And people like famous people when they're dating other famous people."

"So, you want to be my girlfriend? I'm not even as famous as I used to be." Luke frowns, "This doesn't seem like a very well thought out plan."

"No, but you guys are on the verge of an epic comeback. You're on the precipice of being the kings and queens of rock. And I'm on the fast track to the Emmy's and the Oscar's. We just need to boost each other up. We'll pretend we're dating, you can say you're sobering up, and I'll come up with something that makes it seem like you're helping me be a better person. The media will eat it up. We'll be the most in-demand entertainers in the world in a few months." Clementine explains.

Luke looks at his manager, Pete. Pete shrugs and Luke looks back at Clementine. "You're cute and smart. I want to help you, you seem earnest. Can I have a few days to think about it?"

Clementine frowns, biting her lip. "Yeah, fine. Sober up for a little bit, think about it, and give me a call. I'll leave my number with your manager."

"Yeah, cool. Until then, I'm gonna go back inside and party it up. See you around, Clementine." Luke grins, waving her goodbye.

Clementine turns to Pete, giving him her number. "Thanks so much for giving me this opportunity. Even if it doesn't work out."

"No problem, little girl." Pete smiles, "But, uh, have you really thought this through? I love that kid, he's been friends with my nephew for twenty years, but he's trouble. Being with him, even in a fake relationship will either make you or break you."

Clementine looks up at Pete, who seems genuinely concerned. "If I can't handle a junkie rock star, then I have no place in showbiz anyways."

* * *

_Disclaimer: I don't own AMC, The Walking Dead, Warm Bodies. The lyrics used are from Dance, Dace by Fall Out Boy. _


End file.
